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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23612821">A Comfortable Way (Home)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/semimotivatednerds/pseuds/semimotivatednerds'>semimotivatednerds</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Building #17 [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Roommate disagreements, friends don't let friends internalize, joshua is the best mediator on the floor, joshua is the building's ra, nobody messes with joshua, not on jeonghan's watch, or jun's watch either, restaurant owner!joshua</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:20:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,946</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23612821</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/semimotivatednerds/pseuds/semimotivatednerds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When there’s an argument between roommates (or floor mates or friends or coworkers or frankly, if you just need to rant, really) everyone knows to go to Joshua.  Joshua will sit there and listen and then say whatever it is you need to hear (or not say it, but let you figure it out yourself or sit there just sympathetically or just listen or whatever it is your need really).  But what happens when it’s Joshua who has a bad day.  Joshua would apparently just like to ignore it and move on, but when you’ve built an army of supporters for yourself, they don’t let you just wallow as Joshua will come to find out.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups &amp; Hong Jisoo | Joshua, Hong Jisoo | Joshua &amp; Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Hong Jisoo | Joshua &amp; Yoon Jeonghan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Building #17 [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1154807</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Comfortable Way (Home)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardust_utopia/gifts">stardust_utopia</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Title from Seventeen's "Home"</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>      Joshua was getting up, ready to heat some left-overs and ignore his paperwork spread over the table for the night when there was a soft knock at the door.  He had an idea who it was, since he had been helping deal with this particular problem for a few days now. He had also received a text from Jun when Minghao had showed up at his friend’s apartment.  </p><p>     He opened the door, having already started his greeting without checking who it was.  “Hello, Mingyu.” He stepped aside, letting the model enter his apartment. “Still haven’t managed to work things out with Minghao?”</p><p>     The model, realizing that Joshua already knew the answer, launched straight into his rant.  “He refuses to listen or apologize. He thinks I should!” Mingyu let out an offended sound that if Joshua hadn’t experienced before, he would have thought could have come from a smuggled-in cat.  “Which I won’t. It’s not my fault.”</p><p>     Minghao had been a crack-down for about the last week now, after Mingyu had accidentally thrown one of his more non-traditional art pieces away.  The photographer had made it clear that in the shared living area, Mingyu could pick up his own personal items all he wanted, but he needed to leave Minghao’s things alone.  </p><p>     Joshua could see both sides.  The pieces of Minghao’s project didn’t necessarily look like something worth saving before Minghao had explained what the finished product would be.  However, Minghao had also only left them out because he had gotten back from a late shoot and had spent the morning sleeping in. In the few hours between he and Mingyu’s waking times, Mingyu had already cleaned the apartment’s sitting area and had taken care of “the mess”.  </p><p>     Luckily, the pieces were quick to be saved once Minghao had woken up and the main crisis had been averted.  That didn’t fix the hurt feelings on either side or the stronger words that had been shared in the heat of the moment.</p><p>     “Now, he’s making a big deal of leaving anything out.  He put a note on his camera bag telling me not to throw it out!”  Mingyu exclaimed. “I know that already. It’s not my fault that his last project is supposed to deal with waste or whatever it is.  He’s just trying to stick it to me.” Joshua bit back a grin at Mingyu’s comment. He could easily see why peace hadn’t been reached.</p><p>     Mingyu wasn’t always the most sensitive with his comments - which did surprise Joshua, for the model could be quite sensitive himself.  Minghao, on the other hand, gave as good as he got. And both were equally stubborn. He had no doubt that Jun was hearing the other side of the story in his own apartment.  The two would compare notes later and see if they could get the most accurate version themselves.  </p><p>     Until then, however, Joshua had to work out what he could with the one participant he had.  “And has he been leaving anything else out lately?” Joshua knew that while Minghao didn’t usually leave out his stuff unless he was going to be taking it out with him the next day (like his camera bag), he didn’t generally leave things lying around for days on end.  And he wasn’t the type to be passive-aggressive. While he might not be apologizing for his comments about Mingyu’s intelligence level earlier in the week (they might have been in Mandarian, but the tone was something that was easy to pick up on - and Jun’s expression was a help as well for anyone unsure to the meaning behind them), Joshua doubted that Minghao would purposefully be further angering his roommate.  </p><p>     Mingyu’s expression turned slightly sullen - Joshua had no doubt it was because he was not fully taking the other’s side.  He had to bite back another smile at the model’s somewhat childish behavior. “Not really. But that’s probably just because he ‘<em> can’t trust me’ </em> or something like that.  I’m not stupid.”</p><p>***</p><p>     A quick text from Jun let him know that the chef was going to be out all day, so Joshua knew to expect Minghao later.  Whenever the two roommates were fighting, Minghao found it easier to stay out of the apartment when he knew Mingyu was going to be in there.  Minghao would explain it away with plenty of excuses - or more often, stay silent on the matter entirely - but Joshua knew that it was him trying to make sure that Mingyu didn’t have to leave.  Even fighting, the photographer really was a thoughtful person. He just internalized things more than spoke about them and unfortunately for the roommates, Mingyu was the opposite.</p><p>     Because of their differences in how they approached problems, when disagreements did crop up it was hard for them to reach a swift conclusion.</p><p>     Luckily, Joshua had years of being friends with Jeonghan and knew how to deal with pettiness, avoidance, hurt feelings, and pretty much every other tactic of fighting.  While his best friend had near perfect self-control, he unfortunately thrived on conflict. Joshua had been a peace-keeper for long before he had moved into the apartment building.  And years of living here, and by extension, being friends with Minghao and Mingyu helped him know how to smooth over problems and help them get to where they could live with each other happily again.</p><p>     It just took a bit of talking with both of them.</p><p>     Well, a lot of listening to both of them.</p><p>     Mingyu would walk away feeling justified in his ranting session and after he let out the hurt feelings he would be much better and willing to accept Minghao’s less obvious gestures of apologies.  Once his hurt was out of the way, he would also be able to admit he had played a part in it and be able to start making his own apologies.</p><p>     Minghao would be able to talk with Joshua and figure out what it was exactly where he felt he was in the right and where he could see where Mingyu was coming from.</p><p>     Joshua, meanwhile, was able to help two of his friends get along once more, and frankly, he couldn’t ask for better praise than that.  And if he and Jun sometimes shared a glass of wine and a good laugh over the more ridiculous arguments, then that was really no one’s business but their own.  </p><p>***</p><p>     If there was one set of roommates who’s arguments Joshua refused to get involved with, it was Chan and Jeonghan.  There was a simple reason for that. Chan was usually in the right, but siding with the younger brother left Joshua dealing with a petty Jeonghan who would sigh for the rest of the day and make purposefully obvious comments about betrayal.  </p><p>     No, it was better to watch from a distance and hide fond smiles behind his drink  while Jeonghan pouted and complained and Chan would ignore him for a while before glaring and snapping back.  Growing up with Jeonghan had made Chan no stranger to sticking up for himself. The fights blew over quickly and by the end of the night, Jeonghan would be snuggling up to his younger brother as they started a new argument over what show to watch - which was usually about the level of seriousness that their fights had.  The cuddling was really a form of an attack in and of itself. Jeonghan used his larger frame to trap the younger on the couch while he took control of the television. By this point, Chan would usually give up complaining and Jeonghan would take mercy after a bit of teasing and pick a show all of them enjoyed.  </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>     Jeonghan knew something was wrong as soon as Joshua walked in the door.  He still greeted the brothers with a tired smile and polite inquiry about their day, but went to his room immediately after dropping a few boxes of left-overs in the refrigerator.  Chan and Jeonghan shared a confused look, knowing that Joshua’s weary mood was atypical. It wasn’t the usual quiet and tired after a day at work.  </p><p>     Jeonghan wouldn’t have been able to say exactly what it was about Joshua - possibly his posture?  Maybe something in his expression? His tone? - that was off, but there was definitely something.</p><p>     With a pointed tilt of Jeonghan’s head, Chan gathered his books and moved his studying to his bedroom.  Jeonghan listened to the sound of the shower, knowing how long it took each of his roommates to get ready to bed (it made planning when to start his own much longer daily routine easier) before starting a kettle for tea.  The keurig wasn’t going to cut it tonight. He would go ahead and make an actual pot for Joshua.</p><p>        He was waiting at the table, scrolling through his phone, absent-mindedly liking pictures of acquaintances of both himself and his family, when Joshua got out.  Jeonghan knew that the shower had been longer than usual. Another indication that something was wrong.</p><p>       “Tea?”  He offered, holding the warm mug out to Joshua.  Joshua looked torn for a moment before accepting the drink.  Jeonghan knew he would. Joshua’s manners always won out in the end.  And while Jeonghan might sometimes take advantage of that, today it was all for a good cause and that made it fine.  Even if Joshua didn’t want to talk about it, he shouldn’t have to just mope in his room about it.</p><p>      “Everything okay?” Despite there being the possibility that Joshua didn’t want to talk about it, Jeonghan was going to do his best to start the conversation anyway.  Joshua didn’t do well keeping it all in. Jeonghan and Joshua had been best friends the majority of their lives now - their fathers having been close business partners at times - and they both knew exactly how the other was.</p><p>       “It’s fine.” Jeonghan knew that wasn’t true, but also knew Joshua wasn’t the type to just complain and get it out.  He would reveal what happened. If it was hurt feelings, stressful times, or just moody, it would all come out in the nicest way possible in a slow manner as Joshua worked through it mentally first.  </p><p>       “It was just stressful today at work.”  Joshua took another sip of his tea, and settled into the chair, arranging his bathrobe to be a little more comfortable in his slouched position.  “It’s nothing I won’t be over tomorrow.”</p><p>      “Ah,” Jeonghan nodded, knowing there was more to the story than that.  Something had definitely happened to have ruffled Joshua’s mood. And while it was looking like Joshua was blaming himself, Jeonghan was pretty sure that wasn’t the case.  Joshua was meticulous and responsible when it came to his restaurant. He was raised to take over the Hong company after all. Like Jeonghan, they had been taught how to be detail-oriented and to think things through as well as how to respond in high-stress situations.  Joshua didn’t freeze up when under pressure and given time to plan things, they would go smoothly.</p><p>     Jeonghan had no doubt that whatever had happened, Joshua had performed adequately.  Regardless of the outcome, Joshua shouldn’t be the one shouldering the blame. Jeonghan was sure of it.  </p><p>***</p><p>        “Was everything okay with Joshua yesterday?”  Joshua had left early in the morning, so Chan had no problem asking his brother about the results of the discussion he had made himself scarce for.  </p><p>        Jeonghan frowned at his coffee, no doubt thinking about the way Joshua had been out of the apartment before anyone had woken up.  Joshua wasn’t lazy at all, but Chan was normally the first one up and running to get to campus. Jeonghan would wake up early but that was only to do his <em> hours </em>long routine.  With his late nights at the restaurant, Joshua usually found it easier to stick to a slightly later schedule, usually first waking up as Chan was leaving.   </p><p>     Getting out of the apartment early enough to beat both Chan and Jeonghan waking up was weird for Joshua.</p><p>       Chan waited patiently for an answer.  For as nonchalant and joking as his brother could be, he was closely aware of all his friends’ moods and needs.  He took his time with those things, making sure that he was seeing everything he could about the situation.</p><p>      “I don’t think so.”  Jeonghan finally answered.  “He said he’d be fine today, but I doubt that’s the case.  He’ll come to us when he’s ready.”</p><p>       “So we just wait?”  Chan had a feeling that wasn’t in Jeonghan’s plans but did want to check first.  It would be awkward if he jumped the gun and pushed too much while Jeonghan was trying to do the opposite.</p><p>       “Of course not,” Jeonghan scoffed at the idea.  “We’re just going to have to pretend we don’t already know about it when he does come to us.”</p><p>        Chan nodded in understanding, that was the answer he was expecting.</p><p>  ***</p><p>      Jun knew that something was off as he pulled into the apartment complex behind Joshua and watched the other walk towards the building.  The other man seemed lost in his own mind, unaware of his surroundings. </p><p>       “Joshua!”  He called out again, trying to speed walk across the parking lot without ending up too out of breath at the end.  Maybe he should take Minghao up on the other’s offer of a gym buddy - but really, his metabolism was fine, and he was in excellent shape.  There was absolutely no reason to mess with perfection in Jun’s mind.  </p><p>       Joshua startled out of his thoughts at the top of the stairs to the building.  “Sorry, Jun - did you already call me?”</p><p>      Jun slowed now that he had Joshua’s attention and knew the other wasn’t going to escape into the building and out of Jun’s reach.  “Only a few times.” Like the entire time he had been practically sprinting across the parking area - which said a lot about his speed...Jun ignored the thought, now was not the time to be contemplating Minghao’s offer.  There never really was a time to contemplate Minghao’s offer, honestly.  </p><p>      “Sorry,” Joshua smiled apologetically.  It wasn’t an expression Jun particularly liked on Joshua.  It always looked wrong. In Jun’s opinion, Joshua was an angel.  Sure he could sometimes be a little playful and mischievous, but so long as the teasing wasn’t directed at him, then Jun saw nothing wrong with it.  And if Joshua could do something to be apologetic about, than Jeonghan didn't want to think about what it meant for himself - who might possible, <em>just possibly</em>, not be as nice an angel as Joshua was.  “Just lost in my thoughts.”</p><p>       “That interesting?”  Jun coaxed with a smile, finally reaching Joshua at the top of the stairs, hoping to get something out of his friend.  Some information. Anything that would clue him into the reason for Joshua’s mood.</p><p>      “Not particularly,” Joshua’s smile turned a touch self-deprecating.  “I have some things I’ve got to do upstairs, but it was nice to see you.  Have a good day.” He easily bowed out of the impending conversation and slipped inside before Jun could even respond.</p><p>     Oh Jun didn’t like this, not at all.  </p><p>***</p><p>      Seungcheol was standing outside of Joshua’s apartment.  He had been pulled out of his room by Jeonghan, Chan and Jun and dragged up to the brothers’ apartment.  They had told him that they would be in with Jun that night - something about studying and eating - and that Seungcheol had to get to the bottom of what was going on with Joshua.</p><p>      Jeonghan had shoved a nice bottle of wine in his arms and the instruction to help himself to anything else in the small wine cooler in the apartment.  Seungcheol supposed Jeonghan wanted him to ply his roommate with wine if that’s what it took to get Joshua to crack. The oldest had absolutely no intention of going along with that plan.</p><p>     Jeonghan was really the one who got to the bottom of things by prying and coddling and dragging and cajoling the truth out.  His help was just as aggressive, but always getting it done and by the end, his friend would be laughing and distracted from whatever had caused the problem in the first place.  Bad moods forgotten for good.</p><p>      Jun observed, looking from a distance and figuring all the pieces before stepping in to help how he could - usually able to have figured out what was needed by watching.  He could deal with the problem subtly and help with the moving on process.</p><p>      Seungcheol preferred to let people come to him.  He let them know that he was always ready to listen to any of his friends’ problems.  He would give either comfort or advice, whatever it was they needed when they needed it.  All they had to do was come on their own terms.</p><p>      He had tried to tell Jeonghan and Jun that, but had been ignored by both of them.  Chan had offered a smile of encouragement but there was no actual attempt to stop the two of them.  It had actually taken an embarrassingly short amount of time for the two oldest perpetrators to drag him out of his room and get him where they wanted. </p><p>       It took a moment for Joshua to open the door.  The sound of it causing the three heads poking around the hall corner to duck back out of sight again.  Seungcheol offered a sighing Joshua a smile, knowing that the other knew how the rapper came to be at his door.</p><p>     Though he sighed, Joshua did smile kindly as he stepped aside, opening the door wider to invite his apartment mate into the apartment.  “I brought wine.”</p><p>      Joshua looked at the bottle curiously.  “Is that the same one that’s been on top of the fridge for two weeks?”  </p><p>      Seungcheol’s smile became strained.  “I was given wine.”</p><p>      “That’s what I thought.”  Joshua nodded, pulling two wine glasses down to put on the table and a corkscrew out of the drawer.  “Do you want anything to eat with it? I’m sure I have things for a cheese board. And if I don’t, I know Jeonghan does.  I’m sure he won’t complain if we get into it.” There was a little bit of Joshua’s usual brand of mischievousness in the smile.  Joshua might be the nice one, but getting on his bad side was never fun. Seungcheol was sure that Jeonghan - the usual culprit, though he was never there for long - could attest to that.  </p><p>       “I already ate so the wine will be fine.”  Joshua shrugged as if to say ‘<em> your loss’ </em> before putting the new block of cheese back.  Seungcheol knew Joshua was right. Jeonghan never skimped on his pleasures in life.  Wine and cheese were definitely on that list. He already felt bad enough drinking the expensive bottle of wine.  Not much of a wine person himself, he knew that the expensive drink was a little bit wasted on him - though he also knew that Joshua shared Jeonghan’s fondness for the drink so it wouldn’t be a complete waste of the expense.</p><p>       They sipped their first glass in a pleasant silence.  Seungcheol might have been forced into this confrontation but he certainly wasn’t going to give the other three more than that.  He wouldn’t just pounce on Joshua with what they needed. If Joshua wanted to talk, then Seungcheol would listen.</p><p>     If Joshua wanted silence, than that’s what he’d get and Jeonghan, Jun and Chan could all deal with it.  Their nosiness was coming from a good place, but it was nosiness all the same.</p><p>     The two friends moved onto their second glass.  Seungcheol might not prefer or know much about wine, but this one wasn’t too bad.  Not to dry with just the right amount of sweetness. Joshua seemed to enjoy it, which was always a good sign.  Joshua might not be as much of a ...snob...so to speak when it came to his food and drink, but he definitely liked quality over quantity.  If he was enjoying the wine as well than Seungcheol could confidently say that it was a good wine.    </p><p>     “Do you want to talk about it?”  Seungcheol offered. He wanted Joshua to know that the ball was in his court.  He wouldn’t push beyond that. Joshua knew that Seungcheol would accept any answer he gave.  </p><p>     There was another minute of silence as Joshua seemed to give Seungcheol’s question thought.  His face reflected the seriousness of his thoughts and the weight he was giving them. “It really is nothing.  Just some hurt feelings.”  </p><p>     Joshua started slowly.  Seungcheol stayed quiet, letting him work out how much he wanted to share.  “There was a critic at the restaurant the other night. He wasn’t pleased with the dinner.  I just feel bad, I put together the menu, thinking it would showcase our chefs’ strongest points.  They went along with it, but I know that there were a couple other ideas. Now I feel like if we had gone with one of the other ideas the dinner would have gone over better with the critic.”</p><p>       “Everyone’s feeling down about it,” Joshua continued.  Seungcheol knew they had finally gotten to the heart of the matter. Joshua could take any criticism about himself - he may have grown up in a loving family, but there were definitely people who thought he didn’t deserve what he had been born with or given, regardless of how hard Joshua worked to prove he was more than just his family’s money.  What Joshua couldn’t help but take personally was the feelings of those close to him. He prioritized others’ above himself and if he thought he was responsible for someone else’s troubles, he wouldn’t hesitate to beat himself over it. “They don’t blame me and all the other customers’ seemed to enjoy the meal but the critic was harsh. And my chefs didn’t deserve that.”</p><p>      Joshua took another sip of wine, staring into the dark liquid, probably thinking about what could have gone differently to get a different review.  </p><p>     It irritated Seungcheol that someone could have done this to his friend.  He also knew that Joshua had relatively thick skin. If the criticism had been deserved, Joshua wouldn’t be taking it to heart like this.  At least somewhere inside him Joshua felt like the critic had gone overboard and at least some of the comments had been unfair. Seungcheol also knew that Joshua was probably right in those regards.  </p><p>      He wasn’t someone who usually let his emotions get the better of him or needlessly made drama.  Seungcheol stayed silent though, knowing that Joshua wasn’t looking for comfort or advice and just wanted to get it off his chest.  He did lean over to top the other’s glass of wine off, earning a grateful smile in return.  </p><p>      The two sat in silence for a while longer, before the conversation moved on to a more pleasant topic.  Seungcheol stayed for a bit, entertaining the other and trying to get his mind off the critic.  </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>     “He said <em> what?” </em>  Jun had skipped annoyed completely and had gone straight into anger on Joshua’s behalf.  </p><p>     “The menu was <em> uninspired </em> , the food <em> bland </em> and <em> tasteless </em> . And suggests that the restaurant hire a trained sommelier, instead of letting <em> the most recent college graduate they can find </em> do it.”  Jeonghan’s voice was silky smooth - a clear sign of bubbling fury paired with the tick in his jaw and a scowl.   Jun’s reply got lost in lightning fast Mandarian that made Seungcheol’s head spin just trying to keep up. Chan, didn’t even bother, running his hand through his hair and looking like he almost kept saying something.</p><p>     Seungcheol had fully planned on keeping whatever Joshua had told him confident.  He was going to let the other rant and get it all of his chest. At this point, he figured letting the others know could only do good.  This wasn’t something that could be moved on after Joshua let it out. The comments were something that would get under his skin and stay there.  </p><p>     He had found the critique during the short walk between Joshua and Jun’s apartments.  Starting to read the review had only cemented his decision. When he had explained what had happened, Jun had been the first one to respond.  Mixed with what was definitely unflattering comments in his native language, Jun had explained that the critic had a nasty reputation.</p><p>      No one was quite sure why he had gotten to be so popular.  He was cynical and never had anything good to say about a restaurant - whether it be the meal, the service, or even just the building itself.  Most people had decided that his reviews were a waste of time and yet, he was still published and restaurants put out their best for him, hoping that maybe they would be the one to finally get a positive review.</p><p>      Joshua’s restaurant had not been the one to do that.  As Joshua’s mood proved first, followed by the actual reading of the critic. </p><p>       “How dare he?” Jeonghan scoffed now, well on his way to angry.  The critique was clearly in the wrong - all four of them had eaten at the restaurant multiple times and while the chefs’ had their bad days, the food was usually excellent and at the very least, good. Jeongan was also liable to take things concerning his friends very personally.  Where Joshua got upset and would blame himself, Jeonghan would take it right to wherever the blame lay.  </p><p>     Seungcheol wasn’t sure how his friend would be solving the matter, but he had no doubt that Jeonghan would let him know what his responsibility was in the matter very shortly.</p><p>***</p><p>     “Jeonghan, what are they doing here?”  Seungcheol tried to keep his tone quiet.  He had no problem with the other building residents.  He just wasn’t aware that the others knew about the situation.  In fact, the last he had heard, they weren’t going to hear about it because Jeonghan wanted to keep Joshua in the dark for whatever he was planning.  </p><p>     “Everyone figured it out.”  Jun explained. “Not what happened exactly - though I think if Wonwoo had a couple more hours, he would have gotten it.  Him or Woozi. They’re good at tracking things down when they’re motivated. Anyway, Vernon figured it out. Apparently him and Seungkwan got into an argument and went to Joshua for help.”  Jeonghan pointed to the two who didn’t seem like they were in too much of an argument with the way they were curled up on the loveseat looking at something on Seungkwan’s screen.  </p><p>     “How’d they figure it out from that?”  Seungcheol blamed his internal confusion on the external confusion he had been thrust into.  He could easily look at the group and judge which ones knew and which ones still hadn’t been told the full situation. Knowing or not knowing didn’t lessen the volume of the room’s inhabitants.  The ones who seemed to know where loudly demanding something be done, while those not in the know where trying to figure out what had happened.</p><p>     “Let’s just say that his help was a little different,” Jeonghan put diplomatically.  “I think, after hearing the long and short of it - multiple times, by the way - that it basically came down to ‘<em> it’s going to be fine, deal with it </em>’.”</p><p>     “Joshua said what?”  Jeonghan had Seungcheol’s full attention now.  And to think, they had been hoping that after getting it off his chest Joshua would feel a little bit closer to normal.  Clearly, that had not happened.</p><p>     “Oh, it was very nicely put, you know Joshua, he would never actually tell someone to shove it, but -”</p><p>      “That’s Joshua’s way of telling someone to shove it and we both know it,” Seunghceol interrupted Jeonghan who looked pained - either at the situation or the interruption, Seungcheol wasn’t sure.  </p><p>      “Anyway, they figured it out after that - confronted Chan who, in a fit of what I can assume to be righteous indignation, didn’t exactly assuage their fears.  And here we are. I didn’t want to start planning anything without telling you first, so now I guess we can start.”</p><p>      “With all of them?”  </p><p>      “Should I have said no to free help?”  Seungcheol had many answers to that, none of which he thought that Jeonghan would want to hear.  He decided to air on the side of tact.</p><p>     “I thought we were going to keep it subtle.”  </p><p>     “We’re still going to keep the main part of it subtle,” Jeonghan’s smile turned dangerous.  “But, we can have a second, obvious part that will also help keep Joshua away from looking too closely.  Trust me, I know how he thinks. It will be fine.”</p><p>    ***</p><p>     It was not going fine at all, in Seungcheol’s opinion.  It wasn’t that he had underestimated his neighbor’s appreciation and fondness for Joshua - they cared very deeply about their kind neighbor.  He had simply overestimated their common sense and respect for the law - at least three of them were vocally on board with making sure the critic met a little “accident” and that wasn’t counting the ones who had said nothing but nodded in agreement.</p><p>      “We are definitely not going to do that,” he said, interrupting yet another idea about meeting the man in a dark alley.  The set up was elaborate, he had to give them that - but also did inspire some concerns in him about living in the same building as Wonwoo.  It was probably fine, but he did make a mental note not to get caught on the man’s bad side.  </p><p>       He quickly rearranged the list, Hoshi shooting to the top of it as he heard the other man’s mumbled comments about sides, and if not for than against.  Seungcheol felt slightly disturbed as he tried to edge a little closer to Jeonghan on the couch and put some distance between the dancer and himself.  </p><p>     Jeonghan presided over all of this like a dictator of eleven, enjoying the comments but clearly already having his own idea.  Seungcheol was sure that his idea was going to be, at the very least, above board legally speaking but that didn’t stop the other man from putting a stop to his neighbors ideas.  In fact, it seemed to Seungcheol that Jeonghan was rather enjoying hearing the ideas.  </p><p>     Seungcheol was starting to think he had picked the wrong couch to sit on.  It was too late now to do anything about that though. He cleared his throat softly, trying to get the reigning monarch of the ever increasing chaos to do something before it devolved into pure chaos.  (Maybe he was a few minutes too late, but there was also a vindictive part of him that didn’t mind hearing the ever increasing violent ideas for the critic. He cared just as much about Joshua as the others and was just as insulted on his behalf as anyone else in the room.  And it wasn’t like he was going to let anyone <em> actually </em> harm him.  It was...cathartic, in a way.)</p><p>     Seunghcheol held eye contact with Jeonghan for a minute in a silent battle of wills. Jeonghan finally looked away first - Seungcheol knew it was only because he had mastered making it look like he was staring at someone without actually having to do it, if it wasn’t for that, he would have caved to Jeonghan many seconds earlier.  The younger man cleared his throat delicately, a sound everyone else in the room was well acquainted with, and trained well enough to stop immediately.</p><p>     “As excellent ideas as all of those - yours especially Seokmin, I’m impressed, didn’t think you had it in you really -” neither did Seungcheol.  Seungcheol was learning a lot about his neighbors that really, he could have done with knowing. “I already have a plan that will work perfectly given your cooperation - I heard that Seungkwan.” </p><p>     Seungkwan’s muttered “<em> Of course you do” </em> really summed up Seungcheol’s sentiments on Jeonghan’s words exactly.  It’s just that Seunghcheol had nowhere near enough guts to say it to Jeonghan’s face.  Seungkwan also had the guts to not look apologetic after being called out, Seungcheol was almost impressed.  And then he remembered that Jeonghan would probably see the emotion on his face and forced himself not to feel that anymore.</p><p>      Jeonghan let the room sit in silence for just a moment longer - Seungcheol didn’t see that point of that, everyone in the room was already on his side and there was absolutely no reason to try and raise the anticipation.  “There are three points to this. Reputation. Justice. And, of course, revenge.”</p><p>     “Even though there’s absolutely no reason that anyone should listen to this critic as he clearly has no idea what he’s talking about, there may be a few people who still do.  And as much as I would love to make him retract his statements, Joshua won’t let me.”</p><p>       “He did bring it up.”  Chan added helpfully. “Joshua wants the critic left alone.”</p><p>      “Thank you, Chan.”  Jeonghan didn’t sound very thankful.  Seungcheol refused to let himself smile at how unapologetic Chan looked.  “Which is why we simply have to leave plenty of good reviews. Between all of us, we have thousands of followers on instagram, twitter and whatever other social media you choose to use - just please don’t do it on MySpace, Soonyoung, no one uses that anymore - to leave good reviews and encourage people to visit the restaurant.  Honestly, Joshua would probably like that more than anything else - spread love and positivity and all that.”</p><p>      “That’s not all of it,” Jihoon asked, clearly not liking the idea of the critic getting off as Joshua would wish it.  Seungcheol was torn. On one hand, Joshua was the one who was wronged and if he wanted to forgive, wouldn’t it be better to do that?  On the other...what Joshua didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him. He sat forward, interested in the rest of Jeonghan’s plan.</p><p>    “Of course not,” Jeonghan asked.  “We also need to make sure that justice is taken care of.  And while I know all of you are eager to help, we can’t do that without Joshua finding out.  We’ll keep it small. Jun and Mingyu, your expertise in particular here, will be appreciated.  Find what ever factual issues you can with his critiques, I don’t care what it is, just something that’s not an opinion.  The smallest thing that’s wrong - and then call in and complain about it. Throw a big fit, make them issue an apology. Use your names, your reputations, whatever you have to.  Just make sure that it’s clear their actions have consequences. And hiring an ass is definitely something that they’ll get called out for.”</p><p>     There were nods around the room, and offers of help to find factual errors.  Though Jeonghan had called out Jun and Mingyu specifically, he was more than willing to accept some other offers of help.  </p><p>     He sent the others on their way, ending the presidings with words of encouragement - well, he said what he had to purposefully stoke the flames of indignation in his friends’ hearts.  Seungcheol hoped that no one ever convinced Jeonghan to use his talents for more evil means than his own gain. It would be terrifying what the other man could do given the right motivation.  </p><p>      “And that’s it?”  Seungcheol didn’t think Jeonghan would have passed off all the work for the others to do so neatly.  He had a thing about taking care of things personally.</p><p>      Jeonghan sat back comfortably on Jun’s couch, allowing himself to slump into one of his favorite positions.  “Of course not, but the other part has already been taken care of.”</p><p>      Chan looked at his brother.  “Should I be concerned next time dad calls?  Is this something we’re going to hear about for years to come?”</p><p>     Jeonghan looked offended, Seungcheol didn’t miss Jun’s knowing smile in the background.  Whatever it was, Jun knew about it. “Of course not. No one’s going to know it was us.”</p><p>      Chan looked more intrigued now.  “They never do. But dad somehow always finds out - usually because you get bored of no one knowing and boast about it.”</p><p>       “I don’t.  Anyway, since you’re so curious, I’ll tell you.”  Chan waited until Jeonghan turned away for a moment to smirk victoriously at Seungcheol.  Clearly, the younger brother knew exactly how to push Jeonghan’s buttons perfectly to get whatever he wanted.  </p><p>     “Part three.  Revenge. All it took was a call and a sizable donation to the newspaper editor and guess who’s been assigned to a nice new barbeque restaurant program.  The eight top barbeque restaurants in the area over a two month period.” Jeonghan smiled, giving it a moment before sharing the rest of the information. “If you guessed it's the same critic who Jun happens to know has a particular aversion to barbeque restaurants and saying anything pleasant about perfectly good restaurants, you’re right.”</p><p>      “Jeonghan, you didn’t!”  Seungcheol wished he could say he sounded more disapproving.  He really wished he could say he sounded disapproving at all.</p><p>***</p><p>     “I just need some sleep!”  Soonyoung insisted, spread out over the comfortable couch in Joshua, Jeonghan and Chan’s apartment.  It had been one of the first purchases Joshua and Jeonghan had made for the apartment back when they had first moved in.  It had meant to be comfortable, inviting and most importantly, easy to clean. It lived up to all three.</p><p>     It hadn’t taken long for news of Joshua’s better mood to spread around the building, he had noticed.  It did help the way his friends had banded around him though. Even if he wasn’t sure what Soonyoung’s emoji-only review meant exactly, the sentiment was there.  It had worked and Joshua felt better than ever. He had also already dealt with three arguments in the past two days. He couldn’t find it in himself to complain.  His friends had clearly shown that they were there for him when he was feeling down, he owed it to them to do the same.</p><p>     “Why does he have to paint at two in the morning?  Actually, that’s not the point. Why does he have to listen to music while he paints?  Wait, no. My real question. Why doesn’t he wear headphones when he listens to music? That’s it.  Why can’t he be normal and listen to music with his headphones.” Soonyoung wriggled more on the couch, probably to show his irritation.  Joshua didn’t fail to notice that once he had gotten into the perfect spot, though, it seemed a lot of that irritation stopped.</p><p>     He waited a second to answer, thinking over how he could answer that.  There were plenty of answers he could give, starting with “<em>I’ve heard the same comments about someone who practices his dance routines</em> <em>at midnight”</em> but he doubted that would be taken in the same loving manner it was given.</p><p>    Another answer was that Seokmin’s moon phase painting series was almost over and he knew that the music was on the relaxing side.  However, he could also see Soonyoung’s side to an extent. So what if the music was on the soothing, instrumental side - if you slept better with no sound, then you slept better with no sound.</p><p>      He was still thinking about it when a soft sound broke him out of his thoughts.  Across from him, Soonyoung had fallen asleep on the couch. An utterly peaceful expression on his face, so different from the pout (cute though it may have been) that had just moments previously been apparent.  Joshua bit back a smile as he got up to move the light blanket slung across the couch’s back to its current occupant and to gently fit a pillow under the dancer’s head. </p><p>     As he turned the lights to the living room off, he heard a key being fit into the door.  Joshua opened it himself, making sure to put a finger to his lips as he greeted the two brothers who had evidently met each other in the parking lot.  Jeonghan’s turn for dinner meant two bags of take out in his hands.</p><p>      “What’s going on?”  Jeonghan asked, trying to peak over Joshua’s shoulder at the couch’s occupant.</p><p>       “Roommate disagreement.”  Joshua answered softly, not wanting to wake Soonyoung up.  He beat Jeonghan to the next question. “It’s not going to be anything too serious.  Soonyoung just needs to sleep it off.”</p><p>  Jeonghan nodded and handed Chan the takeout bags to grab some plates from the kitchen.  “If you promise not to spill, we can eat in my room tonight. We can use my tv to watch something.”  Joshua knew the offer wasn’t made entirely out of good will. Jeonghan was the only one who decided to get a personal tv for his room - Joshua and Chan both preferring their laptops - and his favorite show’s finale was tonight.</p><p>      Chan sighed.  “Please don’t make us watch that soap opera.  There are so many other good things on.” </p><p>      Jeonghan just smirked back.  “We’ll see who ends up with the remote.”</p><p>     Joshua rolled his eyes at the two.  Yet, he wouldn’t deny that he was glad things were back to normal.  And in the end, he knew that they would be able to find something for all of them to watch after the finale or if Chan managed to make tonight the night he would finally be able to wrestle the remote away from his older brother.  Who knows, maybe Joshua would help him tonight.    </p><p>       Then again, maybe he wouldn’t.  He knew that he had Jeonghan to thank for things coming back to normal in the end.  And what better way than to not put up too much of a fight when it came to his best friend’s favorite show - an emotional wreck though it may be.</p><p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope everyone is doing well during this quarantine and that if you are stuck at home with other people that you've got someone as good as Joshua to act as your mediator :D</p><p>Many thanks to Yang and Peacekeeper once more for keeping me on track with the story and for the loads of inspiration (and Seventeen distractions that we called inspiration)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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